UBS CEO sees no need for dramatic review of targets - Bloomberg TV

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Christmas decorations are seen at the building of Swiss bank UBS at the Paradeplatz square in Zurich, Switzerland, November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S) sees no need for big revisions to its financial goals, despite mounting economic tensions from a trade war, its Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said in a television interview released on Monday.

“There is no reason for us to review dramatically our financial targets. I think we can be more specific about what they really mean. We are going to explain how we are going to achieve our targets,” he told Bloomberg TV ahead of an investor update due late next month.

Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS was “thinking about strategic changes” and could further leverage its market leadership in wealth management, he said.

“It is still a very fragmented market. We need to look how to grow further, how to grow faster.”

The bank aims to expand net new money at a 2-4 percent clip from 2018 to 2020, UBS has said.

Ermotti renewed his call for banks to share some financial infrastructure as a way to cut costs.

“Consolidation in our industry will be part of the solution to take out overcapacity across the board, particularly when you look at Europe. But over time the overcapacity can be managed by creating ways to share back office, infrastructure between banks,” he said.

He expected consolidation to take place soon.

“I think in the next couple of years you will see some consolidation happening in some cases to complement business models, in some cases to create new champions,” he said.